Red
by Kendra Luehr
Summary: Red is the color of the blood he bleeds for her...the color of their obsession. Mugen x Fuu Drabbles
1. Red

**Red**

Red was the color of her hatred for him as well as his sheer enmity for her, the phantom space in between them increasing with the cursed red of the rising sun with each passing day. By nightfall the red of their unabashed fury would transform into the red of their blazing passion, never once failing to heat the scratchy bedding in which they laid, nor scorch the flesh beneath their searing fingertips.

When he fought, red was the color of the blood that he bled for her, the red of his heart always secretly yearning that she actually cared enough to notice. The red of his personal aura, however, would never allow her to enter the red of his tarnished soul, for that would cause him to long for the red of her lips to touch his own.

Every moment that he laid awake tangled up within his web of troubles, he would constantly allow the red of his heated obsession to consume him amidst its entirety. Alas, in the end he always came to the same horrifying realization that the red of his inner fire would never allow the red of her memory to escape him…

**A/N:** Yay, my shortest fic ever…please tell me if you liked it:) I've never tried something so quote "poetic" before, but hopefully it's not a load of crap – Mugen and Fuu forever. :-P


	2. Blinding Fate

**Blinding Fate**

Arcs of silver blazed through the cool night air as Mugen and his female assailant assaulted one another with stroke after stroke, the vagrant's patience immediately wearing thin once he realized that Sara was far stronger than she let on. "Hold back?" he thought aloud, suddenly beyond miffed. "You gotta be frickin' kiddin' me. Up till now I've crossed swords with a whole lotta people, but you're different from all the rest – a type I've never fought before."

The dark overcast clouds steadily cleared in accordance with Mugen's words, slivers of moonlight now spilling forth and illuminating Sara's peaceful form in a soft bath of glowing iridescence.

A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she seemed to wordlessly beckon the pirate forward, a smile of his own taking shape as he released a triumphant "Fine by me!" and leapt toward her like a crazed spinning top.

Exhaling deeply, Sara easily met with Mugen's frenzied swipes, the Ryukyuan far more careless than usual as he slipped through the mulch and gracelessly stumbled to attack her from behind. Unfortunately for him, Sara was much too fast, her weapon colliding with Mugen's as they fluidly circled one another and fended the other off with smooth parries.

Just when it seemed that Mugen might actually stand a chance, however, he foolishly let his guard down and allowed Sara to strike, a deep eruption of scarlet bursting forth from his stomach the moment her weapon sliced through his gut as effortlessly as if it were rice paper.

"_Mugen!"_

Disoriented, the pirate felt himself get thrown roughly back into the shallow river, his head lolling languidly to the side once he realized that it was her…that insufferable little-

"What's going on? What are you doing!?" Fuu persisted, her eyes wide and fearful as she clutched at the slippery folds of her kimono in absolute consternation.

Mugen and Sara promptly ignored her cries, the poor girl now crying piteously as she observed the two before her, Sara calm and Mugen completely outraged.

Before Fuu could even attempt yet another reconciliation, the vagrant charged the assassin like a deranged mutt, Fuu screaming for them to stop as he swung his longsword blindly through the air in a desperate attempt at making his mark.

Sara sensed all of this with zero emotion within her vacant eyes, Mugen now falling flat on his back in complete and utter exhaustion as he felt the quite familiar sensation of blood loss wracking his limbs.

"_Mugen!"_

"Stay back!" the Ryukyuan wheezed, his face contorted with pain, "Stay _back!"_

Gasping, Fuu felt herself tense up at the sight of the abundant crimson seeping out of his haori and onto the stone of the riverbed, her eyes widening once she realized that Sara was now approaching his broken body with her outstretched weapon.

"_No!"_

With a blind leap of devotion, Fuu hysterically threw herself over Mugen's exposed midsection, her tear-stained face buried hopelessly against the vagrant's side as she sobbed a muffled, "Don't do it…_please_ don't do it!"

Tensing beneath her quivering body, Mugen felt an odd pang within his chest as the girl desperately clung to his middle, his eyes widening once he realized that he could no longer concentrate on the tremendous pain searing out across his stomach.

Fuu…had she actually just risked getting herself stabbed for _him?_ He didn't like whatever it was that he was suddenly feeling – dammit, it was _weird!_

Suddenly sensing that Sara was leaving, Mugen gave a hasty "Wait!" before giving Fuu a forceful shove to the side – he was honestly quite glad for the well-needed distraction.

As the Ryukyuan continued to call after Sara's rapidly retreating figure he faltered, now feeling the unnerving sensation of Fuu's soft brown eyes burning into his soul like that of two red-hot pokers.

"Don't fight her again" she pleaded, her hands subconsciously fisting at the folds of her kimono. "I almost lost you once in Ryukyu…please don't put me through all that again."

Mugen regarded her with his stray dog eyes, a low chuckle escaping his blood-encrusted lips as he forced himself to stand up on wobbly legs. "You don't really care about me" he accused, his words surprisingly cutting him far deeper than he'd originally anticipated. "In reality, all you want is for me ta be alive so I can help ya find that fuckin' sunflower samurai-a yours."

"That's _not_ true!" Fuu sobbed, her petite figure appearing to be so pitiful in contrast to his deranged form as she began to cry. He'd never really realized just how small she was before, yet nearly as soon as this thought came to mind he irritably shrugged it off. Who the hell cared about all that, anyway?

When Mugen directed his attention back over toward the broken girl at his feet he stiffened, her tears nearly drowning him amidst their deep sorrow as she pitifully entreated, "Please don't go, Mugen…you're all I have left now."

Grunting, the pirate slowly genuflected down before her upon the riverbank, his calloused hands gruffly taking hers in his own as he grumbled, "Look, kid, I gotta do this, but…" He faltered. "Goddammit, just take this as good luck or somethin'!" Curling Fuu's fingers about one of his jade earrings, Mugen begrudgingly moved to hobble back to the hut, but Fuu had already thwarted his actions by seizing him by the wrist. "Wait" she pleaded, her eyes shining with what strangely appeared to be affection.

Scowling, the vagrant nodded for her to get whatever it was that she wanted over with, his eyes widening in surprise once she removed one of the red balls from her hair pin and tucked it into his haori. "For luck" she explained, a warm smile now slipping across her lips as they locked eyes.

Then, as strange though it was, Mugen couldn't help but smile too, his resentful façade immediately melting away once he allowed Fuu to act as his crutch for the long walk back to the hut. In the morning he'd be sure to be extra nasty to her, but for now……for now he'd just let it go.

_  
_**A/N:** Hey, guys! I originally just intended to leave 'Red' alone, but then I thought it'd be pretty fun to write a bunch of Fuugen drabbles. :-P I just HAD to do this since I realized that I'd never read a one-shot or really ANYthing with the mentioning of this moment. To me, this episode was monumental in Mugen/Fuu's relationship since Fuu _CLEARLY _had no problem with sacrificing her life for her bodyguard's. I think that Mugen was pretty darn surprised, too, since he was all boggle-eyed and his mouth was agape. From that moment forward, they became closer – if you'll notice during the whole Jin/Fuu river scene, Mugen's eyes actually seem to be pretty sad/bitter/resentful. I think he felt closer to her because of her sacrifice, and that was of course only made clearer in the last episode when he came to return the favor. :) If you have any requests, just tell me! Mwuah! ;0)


	3. Riverside Blues

**Riverside Blues**

It was picture perfect just like all the tales of uninhibited romance that wussies liked to talk about – in fact it was so perfect that Mugen wanted to fucking puke. Better yet, he wanted to curse and spit and tell them to get a freakin' room, but…he couldn't. The Ryukyuan found that he was completely frozen in time while watching them embrace, his gray irises slightly mellowing as a feeling of unbridled nausea blossomed within the pit of his stomach and made him wince. Why did it suddenly feel as if he'd been stabbed in the heart? _Why_ did he feel the strong urge to kill someone?

Scowling, Mugen sensed them returning back to the campsite, his eyes hastily squeezing shut so that they'd still think him asleep.

"Fuu…you have to tell him sometime."

The girl audibly sighed. "I know, Jin, but he won't understand…I doubt that he's even noticed the sudden change in our relationship."

'_Oh, yes I have!'_ Mugen wanted to scream, his hands subconsciously balling into two tight fists. _'Maybe I should just get up and leave so you two can screw in private – I can tell when I'm not wanted!'_

"I think he has" Jin persisted, much to the Ryukyuan's utmost chagrin. "He's become much friendlier toward you ever since that whole ordeal with Sara."

'_Huh?'_

"You really think so?" Fuu questioned, a surprising amount of hope reflecting within her voice.

When only silence followed Mugen assumed that Jin had merely nodded in reply, the pirate's eyes nearly snapping back open the moment he felt two gentle hands affectionately pull his blanket up and to his chin.

"Goodnight, Mugen" he heard Fuu whisper, one of her hands now running along the expanse of his unshaven cheek before she sighed and abruptly pulled away.

'_What the hell?'_

Just when he thought things couldn't get any weirder he heard Jin whisper, "Mugen, you are one lucky baka", a tremendous grin now slipping out across the pirate's lips once he realized that he had won.

**A/N:** Thanks so much to Inulover4eva for the request:-P Now I know that it seemed rather shallow to say that Mugen had "won", but the way I see it is that Mugen and Jin are constantly rivals in everything they do, so why not love, as well:) Hopefully this wasn't TOO bad since I just made it up within about 15-20 minutes…I had to post something to fill in the void since I've been stuck on my one drabble. I'm also going to post a one-shot called "Locked Up" where Mugen and Fuu get stuck in a closet. XD There will be adult situations, but don't worry…it's only a lime. :-P Hope you enjoyed – review, please! ;0P


	4. Strangely Meant to Be

**Strangely Meant to Be**

His eyes were always unspeakably dark, the grays of his irises constantly coalescing into a wintry fog that never failed to penetrate one to the very core. Fuu had once heard a prostitute use the term 'bedroom eyes', so this is what she decided he must have since they invoked such yearning and passion in just one fleeting glance.

Although Mugen's eyes were the only beautiful part of his anatomy, Fuu couldn't help but admire his hands, as well. Within these long, slender appendages laid such monstrous power and strength that they could effortlessly slay even the most brutal of beasts. Each finger was an intricately designed instrument of death, yet Fuu found that she could never be afraid of him. After all, how could she when she could discern his inner heart from his cruel exterior? She knew that he ran the gnarled knobs of his calloused hands through her hair when he thought she was sleeping, and she even knew that he was constantly trying to commit her body to memory by sight because of their inevitable departure.

And yet, in spite of all this it was his _mouth_ that truly surprised her to no end. At a glance it was the foulest, most lewd part of his persona, yet it was this very mouth that had uttered the words that had granted her freedom.

With a simple "but in return, ya gotta let go-a the girl" she was allowed her desired liberation, her heart so heavy and swollen with shame that she knew she couldn't leave him there to die for her foolish mistakes. How could she when she knew that he was willing to risk everything just so she could finally find her father? It was touching, and yet at the same time it was absolutely horrific due to the slight chance of his blood being forever stained on her hands.

When Fuu had finally left Mugen in accordance with his wishes, she silently vowed that one day, if they were to survive, she would eventually kiss that foul mouth of his and make it her own just like the rest of him. He was her bodyguard, and she his only anchor in his loveless life, both forever doomed to walk side-by-side in harmony to the inevitable dusk of their lives.

**A/N:** HECK, yes! Sorry, I'm just excited because this stupid drabble took me seriously TWO WEEKS to finish, and after one mind-exploding evening of studying I finally figured it out:-D Yay for random inspirational bursts::coughs:: Anywhos, I really hoped you're enjoying these so far – I mean, c'mon, I'm skipping studying right as we speak to do this for you guys. Haha, no pressure – love you guys! ;0)


	5. The Disease

**The Disease**

He was a disease – persistent, unpredictable, and above all, highly dangerous. Every time he gave her one of his infectious smirks she knew she was at risk, yet somehow she just didn't care nor have the heart to turn away. Perhaps this was the most fatal mistake of all, for soon it got to the point where she couldn't even look at him without breaking into a tremendous sweat.

She had been infected.

Unless she was cured, she was now forever doomed to walk alongside him with unrequited longing, all the while comprehending the unlikelihood of him ever returning her burning affections. And yet she didn't care, for this was one of the many symptoms of the hope-relinquishing disease otherwise known as Mugen.


	6. Addiction

_You and me have a disease  
You affect me, you infect me  
I'm afflicted, you're addicted  
You and me, you and me_

_-Bad Religion: "Infected"_

**Addiction**

He doesn't know why he goes to her, nor does he know why she puts up with it since they both realize he's going to leave directly after. He doesn't do cuddling and he doesn't _do_ 'I-love-you's', yet somehow when he's finished they both seem unconventionally satisfied.

Perhaps it's the sake-like sweetness of her skin, or maybe it's even the unbridled longing that burns back at him from her large eyes, yet whatever it is, he knows that before the day is through he will find himself sneaking back to her quarters to satiate the desire that's constantly screaming within him. He needs her and she needs him – they have become inadvertently addicted.

**A/N:** Wow, first of all, I am SO sorry for taking forever and a day to actually crank this out to you guys. :-/ I know it's no excuse, but I honestly wasn't thinking about this fic until yesterday morning when I got the idea for this drabble. Second, I am ALSO so sorry for ignoring "Through Hell and Back" – I wasn't aware that it had so many fans. I didn't even think to check how many people had favorited/alerted it since I wasn't getting the response review-wise that I was hoping for, but I'm sorry::feels bad:: Just allow me to get over my writer's block and then it should be out in no time. :) I love you all!!


	7. Hide and Seek

"Hide and Seek"

They constantly play a game of hide and seek with one another, neither ever truly willing to be the pathetic and embittered seeker. Usually it is Mugen who hides amidst his fear of being loved, but sometimes it is poor, naïve little Fuu.

On days like these they both sit gazing up into the same azure sky, the aberrant feelings within their bosoms proving not to be so infinitesimal once dawn drapes her multi-colored robes across the heavens.

When nightfall suddenly makes her soothing entrance, the dysfunctional couple can finally look at one another and smile. At long last, the hider and the seeker have become one.

**A/N:** Ok, hopefully that wasn't too abstract, but it was inspired by Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek". If you've never heard that song, you must…NOW! I first heard it on a SC youtube video, and it is absolutely AMAZING. If you want me to send you the link, just tell me so in your review and I'll get it to you ASAP. 

As for the one-shot, I decided that Mugen and Fuu's relationship was a lot like a game of hide and seek. Mugen's far too afraid of being seriously loved, so he 'hides' from Fuu, who's 'seeking' him out to be the man at her side. Hopefully it all makes sense now. I guess people stopped reading this since I'm not getting many reviews, but…well…I guess that's what happens when you take forever to update. LoL If you're bored, I also have a fic in the works called **"Through Hell and Back"**, which is actually based off of a rumor of 13 more SC episodes. I'm excited about that one – the ending is SUCH a doozy:-D Please review! ;0P


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